Wizards Gack One Away in L.A.

Another gut-punch loss

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If you have a Wizards fan wandering around the office in a daze today with bloodshot eyes, it's probably not just from a lack of sleep. If they stayed up for last night's loss to the Clippers, it's just as likely that the redness and puffiness is alcohol and tear-related.

The terribly disappointing 'Zards yacked away a 17-point lead in L.A., the latest in a recent string of crappy endings for the woebegone franchise. As Wizards Insider put it, "After that one, all that I can say is that the Wizards are some creative guys. They really know how to script the most excruciating losses imaginable."

What made this loss so frustrating (well, among many things) is that once they blew the big lead, they rallied furiously late. Caron Butler took over and brought the team back from a late 8-point deficit. His 3-pointer with 12 seconds left brought them to within one.

After the Clips made a free throw to go up by two, it was GilbertArenas' time to shine. One problem though: he was on the bench, having fouled out earlier in the quarter after another fairly sloppy, turnover-filled game. Mmmm... turnovers.

So in his place -- and this perfectly encapsulates the season -- was 4'10" (ok, maybe he's a little bigger) Earl Boykins, their scrapheap point guard, took the ball with the chance to win or tie the game.

And, as befits this team, Boykins managed to dribble the ball off his wee li'l leg. Turnover. Game over.

It's another punch to the gut, in a season that's rapidly turning into one big bundle of self-abuse.